My day in archaeology was a continuation of a week’s worth of sorting and counting catfish bones from a household feature excavated from a site in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, USA). I work for URS Corporation in Burlington, New Jersey and we are conducting investigations along Interstate 95 for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. So far, I have helped sort over 11,000 fish bones from one level of this specific feature, along with some bones from other various animals. Although we do not analyze the fish bones here in this lab, I noticed some repetition that could be presorted before being sent off for further analysis. Judging by the amount of a certain type of catfish bone, I was able to determine that there were at least 65 catfish in this particular provenience. It didn’t surprise me to learn that a fisherman was listed at this property in the Mid-19th Century, and these bones could possibly be linked to him and his family.

My day in archaeology was a continuation of a week’s worth of sorting and counting catfish bones from a household feature excavated from a site in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, USA)–Angela Garra Zhinin